Rotary broom filling machine



y 1961 P. J. CONNOLLY 2,993,734

' ROTARY BROOM FILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 50, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l fiwmar afldds S own 0:

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July 25, 1961 .1. CONNOLLY 2,993,734

ROTARY BROOM FILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. so, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 2 RUE gs July 25, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F'iled Oct. 50, 1957 I! M are United States Patent 2,993,734 I ROTARY BROOM FILLING Patrick J. Connolly, Bridge St., Medfield, Mass. Filed on. so, 1957, Ser. No. 693,487 2 Claims. (Cl. 300-14) This invention relates to a rotary broom filling machine for mounting bristles on the core of a rotary broom. It is an object of the invention to provide a machine which will do this job quickly and easily without being subject to jamming or other difiiculties experienced in the use of earlier machines for similar purposes. It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine in which the rate of feed of the bristles to the broom core is positively controlled.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of a feed chain and the cable which is wound onto the broom core, these parts being shown ona larger scale;

FIGS. 3, 4, and 6 are sectional views on the lines 33, 4-4, 5-5 and 66, respectively, these sections being shown on the same scale as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1.;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a section on the line 99 of FIG. 8 but on a larger scale; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary section on the line 10-10 of FIG. 8, on a larger scale.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 7, the machine has a main frame comprising a base v on which is horizontally reciprocable a carriage 22, suitable roller bearings 24 being provided to reduce friction. The carriage 22 is held down and guided by a pair of guide strips 26 which are secured to the base 20. Mounted on the carriage 22 are two uprights 28 and 30. The upright 28 carries a bearing 32. The upright 30 carries a bearing 34 for a chuck 36. These parts are adapted to support a broom core 40 between them. This core is made with a helical groove 42 adapted to receive a cable 44 to bind a helical series of bristles against the core. Successive convolutions of this groove are spaced by convolutions of a ridge 46 which is helical. The chuck 36 is connected to a shaft 48 which is driven by a motor 50 through aflexible coupling 52, these parts of the apparatus all being carried by the carriage 22. Also fjournaled in the uprights 28 and 30 is a feedscrew 54 having a helical groove 56 therein. A stationary lug 58 is mounted on a frame 68 and has a nose riding in the groove 56 of the feed screw 54 so that when the feed screw is rotated, the carriage 22 is driven in one direction or the other according to the direction of rotation of the feed screw, the axis of which is parallel to the axis of the core 40. A chain 60 connects a sprocket wheel 62 on the shaft 48 and a sprocket wheel 64 carried by the feed screw 54 so that the core and the feed screw are simultaneously driven by the same source of power which is the motor 50. The pitch of the groove 56 and the relative size of the sprocket Wheels 62 and 64 are such that when the feed screw and the core rotate, the carriage 22 is advanced at exactly the same rate as the apparent advance of the helical groove 42 on the core in the opposite direction. Hence, to an observer standing at a fixed point on the base 20, the groove 42, which is similar to a screw thread, appears to be stationary when the core is revolving.

Mounted on the base 20 on either side of the carriage 22 are a post 66 and a frame 68. The post 66 carries a sprocket wheel 70 and the frame 68 carries a similar sprocket wheel 72, these two sprocket wheels being sup- Patented July 25, 1961 ported in a common plane. An endless chain 76 is looped around the sprocket wheels 70 and 72, the lower stretch of the chain being substantially tangent to the core 40 and immediately above one of the convolutions of the groove 42. As indicated in FIG. 7, the plane of the sprocket wheels 70 and 72 is not exactly perpendicular to the axis of the core 40 but makes an angle with the axis equal to the helix angle of the groove 42. Hence, the lower stretch of the chain 76 passes over the top of the core 40 in alignment with the convolution of the groove immediately beneath it.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the chain 76 is provided with two parallel series of teeth 80 which may be of any desired or selected length. The chain 76, as shown, is of the bicycle type having inner and outer links. The teeth 80, as indicated in FIG. 2, may be integral with the outer links. The length of the teeth 80 may be changed by exchanging the outer links of the chain for other outer links having longer or shorter teeth thereon. The two series of teeth 80 form a kind of a channel, as indicated in FIG. 3, in which the cable 44 is received as it ap proaches the core 40 on which it is to be wound. The cable may conveniently be supplied from a reel 82 which is splined on a shaft 84.joun1aled in the frame 68, the reel being axially slidable on the shaft so that the cable as it leaves the reel can always be in line with the chain 76. To maintain tension on the cable as it is. fed to the core, a brake drum 86 is mounted on the shaft 84. A brake band 88 which ispassed around the circumnference of the drum 86 is adjustably tensioned by a screw 90 so that any desired tension may be imposed on the cable 44 has it is drawn from the reel 82. As indicated in FIG. 1, the reel 82 is mounted with its axis at a higher level than that of the sprocket wheel 72. The cable 44, as it is drawn-from the-reel 82, enters the channel formed by the teeth 80 on the lower stretch of the chain 76 and travels with the chain in this channel until it reaches the point of tangency of the chain with the core 40. It then winds onto the core in the groove 42 as the core is re:- volved by the motor 50. The traversing motion of the carriage 22 is such as to maintain a convolution of -the groove constantly in line with and immediately below the lower stretch of the chain 7 6. V The two side walls of the frame 68 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the length of the bristles which areto be incorporated in the brush. Between these walls is supported a pltaform 92 which slopes gently downward toward the core 40. Loose; bristles 94 are placed on this platform transversely with respect to the chain 76 and tend to move under gravity toward the edge of the platform which is nearest to the core 48. The sprocket wheel 72 is halfway between the Walls of the frames 68 so it is above the mid-points of the bristles which are on the platform 92. As indicated in FIG. 1, the sprocket wheel 72 is arranged so that the teeth 80 of the chain 76 come into contact with the platform 92, or nearly so, as they reach the lowermost point of the sprocket wheel 72 and move into the lower stretch of the chain 76. The teeth 80 are sufliciently long to project down beyond the cable 44 which is received between the two rows thereof as indicated in FIGS. 2 to 6. As the chain 76 progresses, the teeth 80 thus positively rake from the platform 92 a succession of bristles, the number of bristles betweensuccessive teeth being dependent on the length of the teeth. The mid-points of these bristles, as indicated in FIG. 3, are beneath and in contact with the cable 44. To support the bristles as they are dragged off the edge of the platform 92, two fixed guide rods 96 and 98 are mounted to extend transversely over the core 40 on either side of the chain 76, as indicated in FIG. 7. These guide rods converge toward the core from positions substantially spaced laterally from the chain 76 and slightly below the level of the teeth 80 on the bottom stretch of the chain, as indicated in FIG. 3, to positions close to the chain and above the level of the lower stretch thereof as indicated in FIG. 6. FIGS. 3, 4, and 6 show successive positions of the rods 96 and 98 with respect to the position of the portion of the cable 44 which is between the rows of teeth 80 on the lower stretch of the chain 76. It is evident from these views that as the bristles are positively fed forward toward the core 40 by the chain teeth 80, the guide rods 96 and 98 start bending the halves of the bristles upward around the cable 44 until the halves are substantially vertical and parallel as indicated in FIG. 6. By this time, the portion of the cable 44 which bears on the midpoints of the bristles so bent enters the convolution of the groove 42 which is immediately below the chain 76. To maintain the necessary downward pressure on the cable 44, a bar 108 is mounted directly above, and bearing down on the lower stretch of chain 76 where it passes over the cable and core, said bar being of a thickness less than the width of the chain rollers and being secured to the frame 68 by a yoke 110, and to the post 66 by a smaller yoke 112. This bar is shown in sectional view in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

Since the cable 44 is under considerable tension by reason of the brake 88, the cable binds the bristles in the groove so that the ends of the bristles project substantially radially from the core. As is evident from FIG. 1, the guide rods 96 and 98 help to hold the bristles in their doubled form during the initial portion of their forward and downward movement after they have been secured to the core of the cable 44. As the newly bound bristles continue around with the core, it is important to keep them from interfering with the later bristles now approaching the point of tangency of the chain 76 with the core. For this purpose a guide plate 100 is mounted on the bed 20 between the frame walls 68. This guide plate is approximately in a vertical plane but is somewhat curved as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 10 to deflect temporan'ly the bristles in the newly formed convolution of the brush so as not to interfere with the bristles which are approaching the point of tangency as indicated in FIGURE 5.

The chain 76 may be driven by any suitable means such as a motor 102 connected by a flexible coupling 104 to a shaft 106 on which the sprocket wheel 72 is mounted. Since the chain 76 and core drive are independent, the cable 44 and chain 76 may be made to advance in step or at different speeds. In this way the bristle density of the brush can be regulated. If the core drive is speeded up to make the cable 44 travel faster than the chain 76, fewer bristles will be delivered to each con- 4 volution of the groove and the bristles will thus be more thinly distributed. On the other hand, if the cable 44 travels more slowly than the chain 76, more bristles will be delivered to each convolution of the core, and the bristles will be more thickly distributed in the brush.

When the core has been rotated and traversed until the end convolution of the groove 42 has come into tangency with the chain 76, the machine is stopped and the end of the cable is secured to the core which is then ready to be removed from the machine.

I claim:

1. A broom filling machine comprising a base, a carriage slidable on said base, bearing members on said carriage for rotatably supporting a broom core having a helical groove, means for moving said carriage in a direction parallel to the axis of said core, power means for driving said core and carriage in timed relation so that the axial advance of the core balances the apparent advance of the helical groove in the opposite direction, an endless chain, two sprocket wheels supporting said chain in the form of a closed loop with a lower stretch thereof extending across said core and substantially tangent thereto at one of the convolutions of said groove, a frame and a post mounted on said base on opposite sides of said core and supporting said sprocket wheels respectively, two parallel rows of teeth on said chain projecting outward from said loop, means for guiding a cable against said stretch of chain to engage the chain between said rows of teeth as far as the point of tangency so as to wind up in said groove as the core rotates, two guide rods mounted on said base and arranged on opposite sides of said stretch of chain, said rods having portions converging from points remote from said point of tangency to points adjacent to said point of tangency, the rods at said remote points being spaced from and slightly below the chain between them and at said adjacent points being close to and slightly above said chain, and power means for driving said chain.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, and an elongated bar rigidly supported by said frame and post above and bearing on the portion of said chain which is approaching said point of tangency with the core.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,941,343 Epp Dec. 26, 1933 1,963,045 Bickel June 12, 1934 2,105,334 Scully et a1. Jan. 11, 1938 2,720,423 Seavey et al. Oct. 11, 1955 2,818,300 Stribling Dec. 31, 1957 2,927,820 Pierce Mar. 8, 1960 

